Bukayo Saka vs. Mohamed Salah: Has Arsenal’s star become their most important player?

Hello everybody, welcome back to ESPN's Football Forecast with myself, James Alcott, Queco Afari and Lawrence McKenna joins us for the very first time. Exciting times and exciting topic to get into straight away. Bukayo Saka is absolutely killing it right now. But is he the most important player, firstly for Arsenal, but secondly in the Premier League? We will get your final answers on all of it at the end of this video. It's called retention. But the first thing I want to ask is, how good has Saka been and how much better has he got this season, Lawrence? Oh, this season I think he's definitely improved massively. I think there was a ceiling question about him last season, right? Where does that ceiling stop? How, if he was to go to, you know, Liverpool fans for instance, we were saying, oh well if he was to come to us, his ceiling would be 10 times higher. And I think as Arsenal have raised their ceiling, his ceiling has gone up as well tactically. They've improved, his position has become so much more important. And I also think they put more emphasis on being a more attacking, in-control side, which puts him in more positions to succeed. Yeah, I think the main aim of this video is actually kind of the definition of him as a player a little bit. We talk about Liverpool there. We were just looking at his comparisons with Mohamed Salah. A lot of people starting to talk about that. They seem to happen more and more actually on Twitter. There's this sort of, there was the Rodri Casemiro. Yeah. There's another one, a DM. There was that debate. The new 1-2-3, there you go. Well, I'm not sure it was video. Par tables. But with Salah and Saka, I don't think most people feel that Salah's had quite a bad season. But look at those numbers. But yeah, exactly. 26 games. They both got the same goals per game. 11 goals, 7 assists. Two games more for Saka. 12 goals, 10 assists. So as we try and sort of figure out where we're at with this, with Saka, is the hyperbole going a little bit too far just because Arsenal are fantastic right now? Because the numbers are similar to a wonderful player, but a wonderful player who's supposedly not having that great a season. Well, you've just got to look at the consensus best players in the league. And I think we can all agree that over the last five seasons, that's Kevin De Bruyne. That's Harry Kane. That's Virgil van Dijk. And that's Mo Salah. Saka's having a very, very good season. He has to do it for another couple of seasons before we can really elevate him to the level of those players who've done it for the best part of half a decade. But he's clearly this season, Arsenal top of the league. And he's a huge part of that reason. He's been brilliant. He's the only player in the league who's got to double figures in goals and assists. He's got 12 goals this season. I know two of them in penalties. A lot of these players who score goals are propped up by the fact that they score a lot of pens, but his has been from open play and they've been important goals as well. He's playing with a smile on his face. I think it's quite telling as well, because Thierry Henry made a comment. Has he ever not? He hasn't, and that's the part of the appeal of Bukayo Saka. And I feel like the players that I mentioned before are a little bit polarised, maybe because of the teams they play for, maybe because of fashion sense in the Premier League, but he's somebody that everybody loves at the moment. Let's wait until Arsenal actually do win stuff and then become the hunted and see how he deals with that different sort of pressure, because right now they're chasing everybody. There's no expectations for Arsenal. We all sat here at the beginning of the season and didn't expect Arsenal to maybe even qualify for the top four, let alone win the title. So the fact that he's in this position is testament to his hard work and his ability, but let's see if he can continue this over the next few seasons. Those expectations, will they occur at any, will they sort of weigh on this team at any point between now and the end of the season? When do those expectations kick in? I think fairly soon. I mean, now, basically, this international break. 10 games left, right? It's like punctuation in the season, the international break is always there, right? But I also think because of the way that Mikel Arteta set up the culture, because he's always spoken about being ahead, because he's always spoken, he's not brought the expectation down, but he's just tempered it and made it right within the Arsenal fan base. So anything you get over that is fantastic. And that's partly why I think people get so excited about him because they didn't expect it to be this good so soon. We're in phase three. So imagine Saka in like phase five of whatever it is Mikel Arteta's got planned. That's the big difference. And I think on top of that as well, like we're talking about stats. There is a lot about what Mikel Arteta wanted this team to embody and what he wanted them to do, about the arrogance, the swagger that he wanted them to play with, along with enjoying their football, the positionless elements of what they also do. All these things are about, they're well ahead of other sides that are currently going through transitional phases. And on the other side of that, his celebrations are great. He's got great foes. Like you said, he's always smiling. The optics of it. He passes the eye test as well. And that is... Sounds very much a succession. No, it's so important. The optics are important. He makes the hundred. Not everyone's watched the first episode. I think what I love about him is he's a bit of a sort of like baby-faced assassin here. But because the goals are there, you know, coming back to Salah's stats, the one big difference, and again, it is about style of play a little bit. Salah's missed 13 big chances this season. Tell me about it. Saka's missed two. Just two. So he's ruthless. I think he's very complete as well. I think you've seen that with Southgate in the World Cup. There was a bit of conversation of who's going to be the guy. He had to be the guy because he's someone who can come and receive the ball, but also going behind as well. But in particular for Arsenal, I think he's focusing more on the other side of it because he doesn't need to get involved as much because there's a lovely little sort of triangle there. Ben White, Odegaard and Saka. And it allows him to be that little bit more advanced and it's allowed him to get his numbers up as well. The tactical intelligence of the whole team is very strong. I think that's partly down to Saka as a smart individual, but also just the general tactics. They're fluent, aren't they? They know what they do and how they play. Drossard too has really brought the best out of him. That's true. And that allows him to go past as well. Yeah, exactly, yeah. So those two questions we spoke about at the start. First one being, is he the most important player in this Arsenal team? I think he is. I know both of you are. No, no, it's not that I'm sceptical. There are so many good Arsenal players this season and there's so many critical parts. I just struggle to work out what makes him better than anyone else in terms of contribution. So first of all, in terms of goal involvements, he's right up there. I think it's 23, maybe 22 goal involvements. Martinelli scored a similar amount of goals, maybe even more, but the assists aren't there. I think it's a couple of things. One, I think he's, as I say, pretty ruthless. Secondly, I think he's stepped up in games when you've needed him, be it a penalty or that great goal against Man United. But the third thing I think is, say it used to be Thomas Partey. I think people were thinking it was him. Take him out. They have Jorginho as a replacement. Out wide, Gabriel Jesus is coming back. You've got Trossard there as well. In that position, for me, it's between Saliba and Saka. Really? And the reason I go towards Saka is, and that is very, very close, but the reason I go to Saka is that I don't see a replacement that plays in that role, on that side. Maybe you could chuck Martinelli over to that side. That's going to reach the heights or get anywhere near the heights that Saka's going to provide. And I think, I don't agree with your argument, but Saka's been an ever-present for Arsenal this season. He's played in every single league game. Whereas I think maybe we're basing importance on how the team looks when those players are not there. So Partey's missed a huge chunk of time. Zinchenko's missed a huge part of time. Jesus as well, but Arsenal have managed to cope. But we've not seen Arsenal this season without Saka. So maybe that will tell us a little bit more in terms of how important he is to this Arsenal side when they don't have him. But there's no question about it, that without Saka, this Arsenal side are a worse team. But I think there's other players in different positions that if you were to lose them, this Arsenal team will suffer a lot more. Teams are going to be sitting a lot deeper against Arsenal in these next 10 games as well. So, you know, the pressure, they're going to be looking to rank the pressure up and like basically just keep Arsenal begging to score a goal. And Arsenal are going to go from this 2-3-5 to more like a 2-2-6. So I think we're going to see a lot more intricate play. We're going to see a lot more emphasis on his kind of players. And you'll probably see a lot more people say, ah, now he's much more key because their control in games is only going to go up as the opposition go, don't worry mate, you keep the ball. I just think the thing with him is he's just so, when we get into that part of the season, and you're right, it's going to be so congested at the top there. You've got those clever players like Trossard who are going to be useful. And Ketia, when you need a goal, you know, he can be that poacher for you. Gavish, as I said, coming back. I think it's between three for me, really. It's between Saliba, Saka and Odegaard. I think Odegaard, you could bring in someone like Fabio Vieira and you could change it a little bit. You're not going to get the same kind of player. If it's not Saka, who would you put forward as that player? Thomas Partey is hugely important to Arsenal. I know that Jorginho has come in and assimilated kind of what Partey gives you, but Partey acts as a perfect shield for that back four. So he'd be up there for me. I think Saliba is a better centre-back than Gabriel. He's way more talented. But Gabriel, in terms of what he brings emotionally to his Arsenal side, especially on the Arsenal side who are chasing a Premier League title, the first title in close to two decades, has been hugely important to them this season. Going forward, I think that's a position they can upgrade, but Gabriel has been very, very important for Arsenal in terms of spirit on that side. It's also where it's become so normal for him, right? It's just become, oh, you would just expect that. So the emphasis now has been on the impact that Trossard has had on that left side's, you know, output. And so everyone's sort of going, yeah, of course. So maybe we're already taking for granted what he does for this Arsenal side. I think that's it. You've almost got to get so good that you actually, the only story is a dip. Literally start getting to that point now. Let's broaden it out a little bit more then. So I think he's the most important player for Arsenal. In terms of being the most important player in the Premier League, is he up there for you? And if not, who do you think is the most important player for their team in the Premier League? Are you talking proportionally here? Because it's like, there are bad, like, you know, Rashford, you know, it just played everything down their left anyway. So of course he's going to get bought. I think Rashford's a contender, yeah. Yeah, I think proportionally. Again, if you take that player out, that team crumbles. Who's the most important player in the Premier League? Okay, so in terms of what their ambitions are this season, it's way loftier than the beginning of the season. Take Bruno Guimaraes out of this Newcastle side, they're not a top four side. They're a side challenging for the top four places and nobody expects that at the beginning of the season. When they brought him in, in the position they were, people were shocked. He's just that level above everything else they've got in their squad, barring maybe, say, Max Mann when he's on his day. I think that Bruno Guimaraes, in terms of importance to a particular side, he has to be the most important player in the Premier League. Casemiro for United's up there this season. You see the difference when he plays well, when he doesn't play well. And I also think now they've sort of worked out ways to get around him. There's kind of that element as well. Sort of hard to work out teams like Chelsea, like who's their key guy? Rhys James. When James and Chilwell are out, they're definitely our most important players. So there's a difference between being maybe the best player in that side and then important to that side. And I think Saka is that perfect combination. OK. For me, just to say, I think... So there's two that spring to mind for me. One's Ivan Toni, just with his bulk of goals. But I think Brentford is such a smart club, they would figure a way around him. The most important player in the Premier League, for me, is James Ward-Prowse. That team is possibly going to get relegated, but there's no way they stand a chance if James Ward-Prowse is not playing and not contributing to that team. I think he's so, so important. So unfortunately, Bakayo, you are not the most important player in the Premier League. Let's know, guys, who is the most important player if you're an Arsenal fan in that Arsenal side, and then broadly, again, the most important player in the Premier League. Let's know.